Personal Statement

Hello and thank you for visiting my Lybrate profile! I want to let you know that here at my office my staff and I will do our best to make you comfortable. I strongly believe in ethics; a......more

Hello and thank you for visiting my Lybrate profile! I want to let you know that here at my office my staff and I will do our best to make you comfortable. I strongly believe in ethics; as a health provider being ethical is not just a remembered value, but a strongly observed one.

More about Dr. Bhavna Mehta

Dr. Bhavna Mehta is a renowned Gynaecologist in Kilpauk, Chennai. She has helped numerous patients in her 24 years of experience as a Gynaecologist. She is a DGO, MBBS. You can meet Dr. Bhavna Mehta personally at Aditya Hospital in Kilpauk, Chennai. Save your time and book an appointment online with Dr. Bhavna Mehta on Lybrate.com.

Lybrate.com has a number of highly qualified Gynaecologists in India. You will find Gynaecologists with more than 31 years of experience on Lybrate.com. Find the best Gynaecologists online in Chennai. View the profile of medical specialists and their reviews from other patients to make an informed decision.

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While pregnancy is not a pathological condition, it is a happy time that can be marred by various conditions. Debilitating morning or all day sickness, which is usually characterised by nausea, reflux in the gastro esophageal band, heartburn and acidity. This can also turn into vomiting and lead to complications if it does not stop. Persistent, almost daily vomiting can be termed as excessive vomiting in pregnancy, and this is known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum in medical terms. Let us find out more about this condition--

Routine: Hyperemesis Gravidarum usually strikes as a matter of routine at a set time everyday where the patient will either be in unappetising company of acute and painful acidity and nausea, or will also be vomiting.

Severity: The severity of the condition usually decreases as the patient's pregnancy progresses. Usually, this condition strikes around the fourth or fifth week of pregnancy, before becoming better towards the middle of the second trimester. There are cases, though, where it continues to be just as severe till the very end of the pregnancy.

When to take Action: The patient may have to be hospitalised in case too much vomiting takes place, so as to prevent excess loss of water and salt from the body, and resultant weakness which may affect the growth of the foetus. Also, it is best to call the doctor when you have experienced fainting and dizzy spells.

Causes: Hyperemesis Gravidarum or excessive vomiting during pregnancy cannot be attributed to any specific or single cause. Usually, it is known to be a genetic condition passed down by mothers to their daughters. But in most cases, doctors believe that the condition is due to hormonal changes where an increase in the HCG hormone, or Human Chronic Gonadotropin hormone level during pregnancy may lead to a variety of symptoms such as morning sickness or excessive vomiting. This hormone is known to be at its peak during pregnancy.

Risk Factors: It has mostly been seen that women who are carrying twins are at risk of suffering from this condition. Also, women who have suffered from chronic motion sickness in the past report excessive vomiting during pregnancy.

Treatment: The best way to treat this issue is to prevent too much of nausea and vomiting with the help of a bland diet that does not have heavy to digest ingredients. Also, it is best to take small and frequent meals.

Working your way around excessive vomiting during pregnancy is a matter of ensuring that you take rest, fluids and other precautions.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

There are three stages of caring for an expecting mother: prenatal, intranatal, postnatal care. This is essential to ensure smooth pregnancy and labour and to keep the mother healthy after giving birth. This care is a combined effort between the doctor and the expectant couple. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are expecting an addition to your family.

Prenatal care from the moment you realize that you are pregnant, a woman must start taking extra care of her body. This reduces the risks in your pregnancy and at the time of labour. But even before planning a pregnancy, it is important that couples should consult with the doctor, in order to avoid any complications in future. Thus you should ensure that regular check up not just during the pregnancy, but also before the pregnancy is equally important, so that your doctor can rule out complications arising due to factors, such as Thalassemia, Thyroid, Blood Sugar and PCOS, etc.

Intranatal care refers to care given to the mother and baby at the time of delivery. The main objectives here are:

Cleanliness

Smooth delivery without injuring mother or baby

Preventing complications

Delivery resuscitation for the baby

There are a number of ways to deliver a baby and whatever you choose, you must ensure the presence of a doctor at your side, while delivering a baby. Your doctor will determine the position of the fetus and help you through your delivery.

Postnatal care is essential for 6-8 weeks after the baby is born. During this period, the mother goes through a number of physical and emotional changes and thus requires rest, nutrition and vaginal care. The main objectives here are:

Sharing responsibility is essential for the health of the mother, after delivery. Get as much sleep as possible and pay attention to what you eat. Do not try and lose your pregnancy weight instantly. Schedule a checkup with your doctor six weeks after delivery to ensure your vagina has healed properly. Additionally abstain from intercourse at this time. With proper care, every stage of your pregnancy can be a beautiful experience.

Many women have concerns about an ectopic pregnancy and we shall be solving all doubts about this dangerous condition right here today. An ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilised egg implants outside the uterus in a woman’s body. Ectopic, in fact, means ‘out of place’. The fertilised egg usually implants in the fallopian tubes whose actual work is to transport the ovum or egg from the ovaries to the uterus for fertilisation. This is why such pregnancies are also called ‘tubal pregnancies’. Sometimes the fertilised egg can also implant in the cervix or the ovaries of the hapless woman.

Normally pregnancies happen when a fertilised egg attaches itself to the uterine wall to grow and develop. Ectopic pregnancies are a serious condition and can cause internal bleeding and infection and even death of the expecting mother. That’s why knowing the symptoms is so important.

Common symptoms of ectopic pregnancy appear as the pregnancy matures. Initially the woman will have all the usual pregnancy-related symptoms like missing her period and breast tenderness, but soon the other alarming symptoms will start appearing like severe abdominal pain on one side, vaginal bleeding, severe cramps and nausea and vomiting, fainting spells and dizziness.

One should seek a doctor’s advice right away in this condition because ectopic pregnancy can be fatal. Why? Because as the fertilised egg is implanted in a part of a woman’s body which is not built to look after it, the embryo can burst in the fallopian tubes, cervix or wherever it has managed to implant itself. This mini-explosion inside the body is a leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths during the first trimester. This can lead to internal bleeding and infection, which is lethal.

Hence, the earlier an ectopic pregnancy is diagnosed and treated, the better. The only way to deal with an ectopic pregnancy is to abort it. The doctor can do this using either medicines or surgery.
The medicine ‘methotrexate’ can be used to end a tubal pregnancy. Surgery can also be used to remove the embryo.

In some cases, doctors may have to remove the fallopian tube with the implanted embryo. This has a number of repercussions. The woman can become infertile. Even if the fallopian tubes have been scarred during surgery, it becomes difficult for her to get pregnant again.

Ectopic pregnancies are also getting quite common due to a number of factors like an increase in sexually transmitted diseases which cause scarring of tubes and infertility treatments. If a woman is over 30 years of age, has a history of a pelvic inflammatory disease, a surgery in the pelvic area or has had an ectopic pregnancy before, she should be very careful indeed. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Gynaecologist.

Postpartum is the period after one's labour and delivery. Pregnancy and postpartum are a time when a woman's body changes to a great extent in order to first accommodate the baby and then go through labour and delivery. A vaginal delivery can have many implications when it comes to the postpartum. The same goes for a Caesarean Section or C Section as well. Let us find out what your postpartum care routine should include:

Vaginal Soreness: Deal with vaginal soreness with the help of stool softeners and pain relievers, as prescribed by your gynaecologist. You should also make hygiene a priority at this time. Use a wash cloth and warm water to clean the area every time you urinate. Also, you can use an ice pack if the wound is particularly painful.

Discharge:Vaginal discharge in the postpartum period is called lochia, and it usually carries on for a few weeks after the baby is born. You must use a sanitary napkin during this period and clean up regularly. If your bleeding or discharge is accompanied by fever, then you should contact your gynaecologist immediately.

C-Section Wound: In case there is redness and swelling in the wound, accompanied by symptoms like pain and foul smelling discharge from the vagina, you will need to get in touch with your doctor immediately so that he or she can check for possibility of infections.

Movement: After a C Section, you will need to take as much rest as possible so that the wound heals properly. This includes avoiding making too many trips up and down the stairs as well. It would be a good idea to have a family member or partner around who can help as well. Gentle walks after a week or two are usually recommended for the body to come back to normal gradually.

Kegels: Do kegels or contracting exercises for the strength of the pelvic floor to return, especially after a vaginal delivery. This will help in alleviating pain and burning sensation during urination at this time.

Nutrition: Take special care to eat nutritious and home cooked food, especially if you are breast feeding. This will also help in the healing of the vaginal or C Section wound. Also, a high fibre diet will help in better bowel movements which will lessen the pain while visiting the bathroom.

Taking care of your body in postpartum is a matter of bringing it back to normal gradually even as you deal with the side effects of delivery. Ensure that you are in touch with your doctor.

A uterus has 2 layers the one with a thin layer is known as the endometrium and the thick outer layer is known as myometrium. Menstruation occurs after every 10-14 days post the ovulation. In a normal menstruation cycle, the wall of the endometrium thickens as part of the preparation process of pregnancy. In a normal scenario, the endometrium wall sheds if a woman does not conceive. While doing this the uterus might shed some blood. However, if the bleeding becomes erratic and in higher frequencies, the condition is termed as abnormal uterine bleeding.

Here is a list of reasons for abnormal uterine bleeding:

Young girls: Any bleeding before the first menstrual cycle is termed as abnormal. The bleeding might happen due to trauma, the intervention of a foreign object, problems related the urinary tract, irritation of the uterus etc. Bleeding might also occur due to sex abuse. A qualified gynaecologist would be able to diagnose the exact cause for this condition.

Adolescents: After the first menstrual cycle, there could be fluctuation in the subsequent menstrual cycle accompanied with excess bleeding from the uterus. This is a condition which is treatable and normalises once the ovulation and the hormonal cycle stabilises. However, if the bleeding persists in after 3-4 menstrual cycle, a doctor has to be consulted.

Premenopausal women: There could be a variety of reasons for more than normal bleeding in women between menopause and adolescence. Some of the common reasons are hormonal changes and hormonal therapy for birth control. For women who fail to ovulate regularly can experience conditions such as endometrial polyps, uterine fibroids and uterine adenomyosis leading to excess bleeding from the uterus. Some other common factors of uterine bleeding include cervix infection, pregnancy, cervical cancer, disorders related to clotting, certain illnesses related to the kidney and liver.

Hormonal birth control: Women taking help of hormonal birth control can experience breakthrough bleeding. This often occurs due to changes in the uterus lining. If the bleeding from the uterus persists for few months at stretch, a different birth control pill should be tried. Bleeding can also occur due to due to irregular consumption of birth control pills. If the situation does not improve, it is wise to consult a doctor to get the condition addressed.

Menopausal transition: Towards the end of the menstrual cycle, the period timings become irregular. While the secretion of the oestrogen continues the progesterone flow declines. This phase is known as perimenopause. The sudden hormonal changes lead to an excess fluid secretion by the walls of the endometrium. The whole process can lead to an excess bleeding from the uterus. Even using birth control pills during this phase can lead to excess bleeding. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Gynaecologist.

When the reproductive glands produce scant to no hormones like oestrogen or testosterone, then it is known as hypogonadism. These hormones are important for controlling secondary sex characteristics like development of breasts in women and testes in men and growth in pubic hair. Sex hormones are also required for the roles they play in menstrual cycle in women and sperm production in men.

Hypogonadism is curable with the right medicines.

Types of Hypogonadism

1. Primary hypogonadism: In this type, there are not enough sex hormones in your body because of a problem in your gonads (testis or ovary). In primary hypogonadism, the gonads do receive the message from the brain to produce sex hormones but cannot produce them.

2. Central/Secondary hypogonadism: In this type, the brain is wherein the problem lies. The pituitary gland and hypothalamus located in the brain do not work properly.

What causes Hypogonadism

The causes of hypogonadism can be classified according to their types.

Low level of testosterone can end up affecting various aspects of a your life. It can affect your libido, your performance in bed along with your motivation and energy. Testosterone replacement therapy can bring the levels back to what they were before and restore his lost confidence, energy and vigour.

Testosterone is a hormone which is mainly produced in the testicles. Testosterone controls bone density, distribution of fat, muscle mass and strength, body and facial hair, red blood cell production, sex drive and production of sperms.

Ovarian Cancer, as the name suggests, is a cancer that affects the ovaries. It leads to the abnormal growth of cells, which eventually spreads over to other parts of a woman’s body, such as the stomach, uterus and vagina. The risk of ovarian cancer is greater in women who have experienced the process of ovulation many times in their lifetime. It also includes those women who attain menopause at a much later stage in their lives or those who start ovulation at an early age. The different types of tumors, which develop in ovarian cells are more often than not, benign or non-cancerous and do not spread beyond the ovaries.

Therefore, they can be easily treated by either removing a part or the whole of the ovary. But malign tumors have the ability to spread to other parts of the body and can prove to be fatal.

What are the causes of ovarian cancer

1. Family History: If someone in your close relation like mother, sister or daughter has developed ovarian cancer, then the risk of becoming susceptible to the disease also increases. If any of your close relatives have developed the disease earlier at a young age, then it’s quite likely that it was due to some inherited faulty gene. BCRA1 and BCRA2 are known to be the faulty genes that are connected to ovarian cancer.

2. Age: You become more susceptible to developing ovarian cancer at a postmenopausal stage.

3. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT): Women who go for hormone replacement therapy put themselves at a greater risk of developing the disease. Nevertheless, if you stop undergoing the sessions of HRT, your risk of suffering from this fatal condition eventually decreases.

4. Obesity/overweight: This is also one of the important factors behind the increased risks of developing ovarian cancer. So, the more obese you are, greater is the risk involved.

3. Other typical symptoms are diarrhea, constipation, nausea or changes in bowel movements.

4. Feeling of mass pressure at your lower back or pelvis

Treatment available for it

Treatment for ovarian cancer generally consists of a combination of surgery and chemotherapy:

1. Surgery: Treatment usually entails removal of the ovaries, uterus and fallopian tubes, including the surrounding lymph nodes as well as the fatty abdominal tissue, which often gets affected with ovarian cancer. This surgery may help you to retain the ability to conceive.

2. Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is a procedure that follows a surgery and is performed to destroy the remaining cancer cells, if any. Chemotherapy drugs are either inserted into your vein or directly into the abdominal cavity and if need be, into both. If you wish to discuss any specific problem, you can consult a gynaecologist.

Dilation and curettage is a surgical procedure where the cervix (the lower part of uterus) is dilated and tissues are removed from the inside of the uterus. The procedure is usually done to treat heavy menstrual bleeding or clean the lining of the uterus after an abortion or miscarriage.

During the procedure, the cervix is dilated with medication and a thin surgical instrument is inserted through the vagina. This instrument is then used to scrape (curettage) the uterine tissues.

Reasons for Conducting the Procedure

Dilation and curettage is mostly done to either treat or diagnose certain uterine disorders. Dilation and curettage is recommended if your doctor needs to diagnose conditions such as:

1. Irregular uterine bleeding

2. Postmenopausal bleeding

3. Discovery of unnatural endometrial cells while conducting a common test for cervical cancer

Sometimes, the doctor can take a sample tissue from the uterus and perform tests on it to check for the following conditions:

Dilation and curettage, when used for therapeutic purposes, is used in the treatment of the following conditions:

1. To clear away molar pregnancy; which is characterized by formation of tumours.

2. To treat heavy bleeding after childbirth; any remaining placenta in the uterus is removed.

3. To remove benign uterine or cervical polyps.

4. To clear away fibroids (benign tumours which form on the uterine wall)

5. To remove any tissue that could have been left behind after an abortion or miscarriage to prevent heavy bleeding or infection

What needs to be considered before opting for it?

The procedure of dilation and curettage is mostly safe. Complications from this procedure are rare, but some factors should always be taken care off.

1. The surgical instrument can perforate or poke a hole in the uterus. Sometimes, perforations can heal on their own; but if any organ or blood vessel gets damaged, then another surgery will be required.

2. The cervix can be damaged during the procedure. The doctor can stitch the wound close, or apply pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding.

3. Sometimes, there might be scar tissues on the wall of the uterus. This can cause irregular, painful or absent menstrual cycles, augment risks of infertility and future miscarriages. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor and ask a free question.

Vagina is one of the most delicate organs of your body. While you tend to the hygiene of other body parts, caring for the vagina either doesn’t strike you or it is too taboo a thing to be discussed about. Vaginal rashes are prevalent among many women and in most cases, they are not aware of ways to approach the problem. Rashes can lead to extreme uneasiness and if neglected, could even cause complicate health disorders. Thus vaginal rashes should be treated with proper medical assistance and watchful sanitation.

Factors that can cause vaginal rashes:

1. Warts in and around a person’s genital: Warts are infections that can have a painful and disturbing effect on your health. Genital warts are the result of sexually transmitted infections. The diverse kinds of human papillomavirus are known to trigger the formation of vaginal rashes.

2. Infections caused due to the predominance of viruses: Vaginal rashes may exhibit themselves in the form of aching blisters. This symptom could be indicative of Genital Herpes that further needs medical expertise to be dealt with.

3. Folliculitis could cause suffering: The base of a hair shaft is indeed a sensitive area. Any infection pertaining to hair shafts surfacing usually in the form of a red lump can worsen to cause rashes in your genitalia.

4. A cyst in the Bartholin gland could be the reason: A Bartholin gland is one of the two glands positioned at the opening of a person’s vagina. A cyst might happen to develop in any one of these glands due to accumulation of fluids produced by the glands itself. Secondary symptoms of such a condition could be red, itchy rashes.

Symptoms that help a doctor identify the prevalence of rashes in your vagina:

1. Redness of the skin in and around one’s vagina is a characteristic feature of an underlying problem.